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Whether you're looking for your first road bike or planning to upgrade on a tight budget, here are the best bikes for you.

The good news is that there are a growing number of brilliant road bikes in the the competitive sub-£1,000 price point. You'll get an excellent frame – carbon is now even possible for under a grand – good componentry and usually a carbon fork for your money.

Cheap, hard tyres are one of the first things we'd recommend upgrading, and though most of these bikes come with decent training wheels, an upgrade in this department can give an instant uphill performance boost.

This selection represents the bikes we've reviewed that offer the best value, best kit and best frames – and are still available to buy. We'll update this list as testing unearths more sub-£1,000 bargains. Prices here are RRPs, butby shopping around you can get many of the below for much, much less.

The swept-out handlebar enables you to keep control in more challenging terrain, with the brakes allowing you to stop in an instant or scrub speed off with plenty of control. Even if you’re not planning to be quite so adventurous, the ride itself is so beguiling on the road that unless you’re looking for all-out speed over just about every other consideration – comfort, toughness, versatility – this really does make the Grade.

Carbon, eh? That’s a bit of a clue in this bike’s name, separating it from virtually every other bike in this price bracket. Being able to put together a carbon frame with predominantly branded kit is a great achievement at this price, especially when the bike rides as well as it does. Yes, you might have to overcome your prejudices and nip down to Halfords, and there have been some component compromises, but it’s worth every penny.

"Frankly, it’s very hard to fault the Rose if you’re prepared to buy a bike online"

Weight: 8.3kg

Frame: 7005 T6 Ultralight triplebutted aluminium

Fork: Pro modulus carbon tapered

Groupset: Shimano 105

Wheelset: Mavic Aksium WTS

Unlike most of its peers, with the Rose you can customise a lot of the kit, including choosing different groupsets and wheels from an extensive online menu. And it’s that eschewing of the bricks-and-mortar approach that has enabled the German company to be so competitive.

True, the bike will arrive in a box and you’ll have to do some spannering before you can ride it, putting in wheels and seatpost and setting up the handlebar. But then you look at the price... It’s an achievement to see Aksium wheels at this price. Along with the frame they allow you to tackle hills – the ups and downs – with great pace and confidence. Out-of-saddle sprints? A breeze. This Rose? Blooming great!

Giant’s Defy is a familiar sight in the BikeRadar offices. The Taiwan-based company has become one of the biggest producers of bikes in the world since it started making bikes under contract for European and American companies back in the 1970s.

For 2015 the Defy range has had a bit of a revamp, with a few design changes – some of which are immediately evident. The Defy 0 is also significantly cheaper (£200 less in the UK) than the 2014 model.

F-Series machines are Felt’s racing bikes, with the frame silhouette you'd expect from that end of the spectrum. The F85’s angles are also virtually identical to that of Felt's F-FRD, which can lay claim to Classics wins and Tour stage victories.

If your budget doesn’t quite stretch to a grand and you’re looking for a racy rather than recreational road bike, the F85 really is a flyer.

Our first reaction to the Revolt was slight bemusement – out of the box, there’s no getting past the fact that it’s kind of funny looking, with a super compact frame, kinked chainstays and radically dropped seatstays. Giant has rarely disappointed us, though, so we cast aside prejudice and took to the road.

Turns out we were right to withhold judgement. In spite of its gawky upper appearance and substantial 35mm boots, the Revolt is a remarkably lively ride.

The Taiwanese company Merida is one of the world’s biggest bike manufacturers, and second at home only to Giant. Like Giant, it has a background in producing bikes for other people – making machines for Raleigh back in 1972 – but it now makes them only under its own name, Centurion’s and Specialized’s. The former is big in Germany, the latter is huge just about everywhere. The Ride 94 is part of Merida’s massive road bike range.

The name may sound Italian, but the Sensa Romagna is Dutch. Although the Shimano 105 shifting is a boon, the Sensa’s single-minded approach won’t appeal to everyone. There are no mudguard or rack mounts, for example, though you could fit clip-on ’guards. If you’re looking for a fast commuter you may have to look elsewhere, but if you want a quick sportive or race bike, the Sensa is fantastic value.

With an unladen weight of 12.92kg (28.48lb), Civia’s Prospect steel commuter machine is nudging towards Clydesdale territory. But provided you factor in a slightly slower speed and keep your expectations for arrival times within reason, it’s none the worse for it. This is a machine that you could easily replace your car with. Make the Prospect your main means of transport and you could use it for commuting, load it up with your shopping and ride it at the weekend for fun and fitness.